Sunday, August 11, 2013

Sally Lunn Bread

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found my go-to bread recipe. This could very well mean my never buying a loaf of white bread again. I decided to poke around in my Frugal Gourmet cookbooks for a Sunday baking recipe when I found this little gem in The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Sally Lunn bread. Who is Sally Lunn? Instead of just copying and pasting the answer, simply follow this Wiki link to Sally Lunn! The bread is soft and springy with just the right amount of crust. The recipe says you can even do these up in a cast iron muffin pan and make rolls! As always, any notes or changes will be in blue.

Scald the milk, or bring it almost to a simmer, and add the butter, sugar and salt. Let cool until tepid or just warm (95F)(If you don't own a digital thermometer for the kitchen, you really need one. Baking and grilling is so much easier when you know stuff isn't raw and poisonous. Unless that's what you were going for and carry on)

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of tepid water

Using an electric mixer, if you have one, beat the eggs and then add the milk mixture, the yeast water, and finally the flour. Beat until smooth, about 5 minutes (I used the Kitchenaid here, but any electric mixer will do. This batter will be pretty thin so it won't strain most mixers. You could do it by hand but it will be a bit of work.)

Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and allow it to rise for one half hour. Beat it down with the mixer for just a moment and then allow it to rise again (when they say "just a moment," this is not an exaggeration. I only let the mixer go for a second or two and it knocked the batter down at least 50%. Don't panic, this is normal). Do this a total of 3 times and then put the dough in 2 large greased bread pans (I used nonstick cooking spray with no issues). Allow to rise to double the bulk (I just let it go for about an hour)

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour (this came out in 45 minutes on the button for us. For once something cooked on the short end of time. Cooking times vary. You can always jab a toothpick in there to see if it comes out clean). The bread should be light and have a nice crust.